Cooler top



F. T. POWERS Feb. 2l, 1939.

COOLER TOP Filed Aug. 23, 1957 lNvENToR vFRANK TPowERs 1P l IIF/l Il FlI III r l ATT RNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3Claims.

My invention relates to coolers used in the art of photo engraving forcooling line and halftone plates and more particularly to improvementsin the tops of wet coolers of the type exemplified by that shown anddescribed in Patent No. 1,373,909, issued April 5, 1921, to Frank T.Powers.

The objects of my invention are to provide a more durable surface uponwhich to support the plate during the cooling process and a surface freefrom openings or obstructions, a surface in which the corners of theplate cannot be caught, and also to provide a guided flow of coolingfluid to more evenly and more quickly cool the plate.

Other advantages will be obvious from the description herein or may belearned by one skilled in the art while using the invention.

I attain these and other objects and advantages by the constructionshown in the accompanying drawing and hereinafter described.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a cooler showing the topin place.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top, and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line AA of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the top on the line BB of Fig. 2.

In coolers of the type to which the present invention is adaptable thereare commonly a tray or receptacle for the cooling fluid, up throughholes 5 in a plate 6 and thence through a filamentous covering over theplate.

These parts are common to coolers generally used in the art and it is toan improvement of the cover over plate 6 that the present invention isaimed.

Over the plate I place a cover made up of strips 'I of thin hardmaterial, such, for example, as stainless steel which is highlyresistant to the action of liquids and chemicals used in the art ofphoto engraving. I arrange these strips of metal in a particular mannerwith a median strip 8 and on either side of it a plurality of parallelstrips 1. Those immediately adjacent the median strip have their nearedges underlying and underlapping the edges of the median strip and withtheir farther edges overlapping the next adjacent strip and so on out tothe near edges of the plate 6. Along the underlapping edges of eachstrip I provide small embossed circular areas 9 which project upwardly ashort distance from the surface of the plate and upon which the edge ofthe overlapping adjacent plate may rest. These embossed or die-pressedareas serve to keep the adjacent strips apart to permit the free passageof cooling fluid therebetween in the direction indicated by the arrowsin Figs. 1 and 4. The strips 1 are held in place by means of screws orrivets l0 or the entire top may preferably be assembled as one piece byspot welding the adjacent strips together at the points Where theembossed areas 9 contact adjacent strips. The thus assembled top is thenattached to the plate 6 by a suitable smaller number of screws or rivetsl0.

In operation the action of the pumping device 3 forces cooling Waterthrough perforations 5 in plate 6 and is deflected laterally in thedirections indicated by the arrows and passes, through the slots betweenthe strips which are maintained in spaced relationship one with anotherby the embossed areas 9 and thence into contact with the under side orback of a hot plate previously placed thereon by the operator forcooling.

Having described my invention and the man- H ner of its construction anduse I now state what I believe to be'new and novel and for which I praythat Letters Patent be granted.

I claim:

1. A top for a wet cooler for photo mechanical printing platescomprising a plate having perforations therein, and having securedthereto along the periphery thereof and supported thereby, a layer ofthin, hard, flexible, durable material having transverse narrow openingstherein directed away from the mid-portion of the top of the cooler.

2. A top for a wet cooler for photo mechanical printing platescomprising a plate having perforations in the mid-portion thereof andhaving secured thereto along the periphery thereof and supportedthereby, a plurality of thin strips of hard, flexible, durable materialassembled with overlapping edges, spaced apart, permitting egress ofcooling fluid.

3. A top for a wet cooler for photo mechanical printing platescomprising a plate having openings in the mid-portion thereof and aplurality of strips of thin, hard, flexible, durable material securedthereto and supported thereby, extending transversely of the said platewith edges overlapping and spaced apart, forming channels for permittingegress of cooling fluid and directing its flow away from the mid-portionof the top of the cooler.

FRANK T. POWERS.

